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Tell me all about Blade Show!

I will be returning my form and deposit this week on a table, so not 100% confirmed yet, but getting excited at the prospect! I will be gathering stock for the show but will be a fairly humble display according to what I have time to do. Most looking forward to the experience and mission. So any advice on booking a table, finding somewhere to stay from old hands would be appreciated. Obviously as this all becomes more certain, will turn into a come see me at Blade thread.
In an ideal world I would take the week after the show to visit some folks and places on some twin powered two wheeled beasty, but we will see how funds and time shape up.

Hardly any of the knife shows have much of a focus on kitchen knives.
But......over the past couple years I am seeing more and more kitchen knives at the shows.
I will usually see some of the well known guys (Carter, Burke, Rader, DT) at the shows, so it must be worthwhile.
Not sure how the sales go but their tables always seem to draw a crowd.
Last show a customer came to my table to pick out matching blocks for a set of kitchen knives that they were going to have made by one of the makers at the show.

I have not been to Blade yet but that is the big one.
The old timers tell me that is where you go to get noticed. As hard to believe as it sounds, it is a fairly small portion of the knife buyers who frequent the forums.
There are still a lot of buyers who want to meet the makers and see your work in person.
I probably won't be able to go to Blade 2014 but I am going to make it a definite goal to have a table at the 2015 show.

Sounds very promising Mark, and an interesting way of meeting/making some new customers, maybe ones who don't know they like kitchen knives yet. I think a batch of my Spiky 8/8 straight razors could be in order too. Will be great to meet some more fellow makers, shame you won't be there, but hopefully I will be back in 2015, Im sure it will take a while of going to make a real impression.
Cheers
Will

Just found this thread. I've been going to the Blade Show for maybe 25 years now. It doesn't really turn a blind eye to custom kitchen knives, it is just that they are a small part of the overall market right now. Most people still buy custom knives they never really intend to use. I think Takeda does OK there and Carter also seemed to in the past before he gave up on shows. I bought a left-handed Wantanbe off the maker one year. There are also usually a few of the commercial kitchen cutlery companies displaying like Cutco.
It is funny how so many people will pay large sums for knives they never use but can't get past the big box store specials for the blades they use three times a day.

Stay at the show hotel if you can or across the street at the Sheridan. Big party every night in "the Pit" you don't want to miss.

Just an afterthought.
What sold me on the idea of better kitchen knives was actually using one.
Might be a little messy but if you had a cutting board and some ripe tomatoes and other veggies so people could try out a demo knife.
If anyone was on the fence that would knock them off.
Then last day of the show sell the demo knife.